Family fulfills father's organ donation wish after his death

A family in Tainan, Taiwan, honored their late father's final wish by donating his organs after he passed away from acute cerebral hemorrhage. The 60-year-old man, identified by his surname Zheng, had signed an organ donor card, which his children discovered while organizing his belongings shortly before his death.

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Organ donation is a life relay race, and the selfless dedication of donors and their families allows life to continue to shine after saying goodbye.

Following his passing, the family respected his wishes, leading to the donation of his liver and corneas. These donations offer a renewed chance at life for individuals awaiting transplants, embodying the principle of leaving a legacy of love.

Chi Mei Medical Center, which has been involved in organ donation and transplantation since 1999, is currently hosting a three-day "Love. Inheritance. Life" organ donation awareness event. The center has completed 904 organ and tissue donations over the years, providing hope to recipients and their families. The event, themed "Tree of Life," aims to promote life education and the concept of a peaceful end-of-life, encouraging more people to recognize the significance of organ donation.

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Although the government actively promotes it, Taiwan's donation rate per million people is only about 4, compared to over 30 in Europe and the United States, still a big gap.

Tang Hong-jen, vice president of Chi Mei Medical Center, emphasized that organ donation is a "life relay race" where the selfless contributions of donors and their families allow life to continue shining after farewell. He noted that while the Zheng family grieved, they found solace in their father's ability to extend his life's value in another way.

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The core of the difficulty in promoting organ donation lies in conceptual and systemic dilemmas. The concept of 'entering the earth for peace and preserving the whole body' is deeply rooted in the minds of many elders, and some negative reports also affect the willingness to donate organs.

Sun Ding-ping, director of the transplant medicine department at Chi Mei Medical Center, highlighted a concerning trend of declining organ donation rates in Taiwan. While the center has performed various transplants since 1999, including kidney, heart, and liver, the overall number of donations has decreased significantly. Statistics show a drop from 416 donors in 2023 to just over 300 last year, with only about 50 cases reported in the first half of this year. Sun pointed out that Taiwan's donation rate per million people is significantly lower than in Western countries, attributing the challenges to deeply ingrained cultural beliefs about "burying the dead" and preserving the body whole, as well as the impact of negative media reports. He stressed that even if an individual has signed a donor card, a single family member's objection can prevent donation, underscoring the need to shift societal views on life and death to foster consensus and enable more people to receive the gift of life through transplantation.

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Even if the person has signed an organ donation intention card, as long as one family member objects, the donation cannot be carried out, causing great love to stop with regret.